No Hesitation

By Natalie Stevenson

As we hiked down the mountain to the Assi Ganga river valley my only motivation was to put my days without showering behind me.  I looked around the rock-filled river bed and the streams of water spewing here and there.  I reminisced about my whitewater rafting days in Colorado.

It was a beautiful sight but as I stumbled through the rocks, I was overcome with misery.  We passed so many little pools that would have been perfect for washing my hair.  But I stayed crawling and twisting my way to keep up with the group.

Eventually I could see what we had been moving toward – a huge pool with the perfect rocks to jump off of.  I saw Evan and Avery jumping from a cliff into the freezing water as I approached.  All the others were timid to step foot in the nearly frozen water.

I stripped right down to clothes that I did not mind getting wet and went “all out,” as Caleb said in his blog post.  I sat perched on a half submerged rock and began to lather up. Everyone stood about me in amazement – the quietest girl on the trip was seemingly unfazed by the 30 degree water.  I dunked my whole head in the frigid water and was overwhelmed with a feeling of peace.  I felt one with nature and for the first time on this trip felt no internal fear.

Bathing in the Assi Ganga river was once in a lifetime opportunity that I was not going to pass up, just as living side by side with the people of Agora is.

I realized that jumping in to anything with no hesitation, be it making chapatis, building a roof, or bathing in freezing water, makes for a more rich experience.  A “no hesitation” lifestyle is something we should all aim for.